Editorial: State helps farmers, families

A modest contribution from New York will help both families in need and local farmers this summer while talks continue in Washington about how much less will be available in the federal programs to supplement nutrition.

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recordonline.com

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Posted Jun. 17, 2013 at 12:35 PM

Posted Jun. 17, 2013 at 12:35 PM

» Social News

A modest contribution from New York will help both families in need and local farmers this summer while talks continue in Washington about how much less will be available in the federal programs to supplement nutrition.

The state announced last week that about 215,000 families will be eligible for $24 checks to buy food at farmers markets this summer. Overall, the state is spending $3.4 million to help low-income women, infants and children buy healthy food at the state's 470 farmers' market, according to a story in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

As Gov. Cuomo said in making the announcement, "Farmers' markets help pump money back in to local economies while encouraging New Yorkers to support local agriculture and promote healthy eating."

The link between farms and needy families often gets lost in Congressional debates but the two were very much on the minds of those who started the food stamp and other nutrition programs decades ago. Representatives from urban areas with high concentrations of poverty came together with representatives or rural farming areas in an effort to find ways to help both of their constituencies.